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Arnold's Christmas/Trivia
*This is the first episode to relate to a real life event such as the Vietnam War, although this is never explicitly stated in this episode (though Mr. Hyunh being from Vietnam was mentioned in "Snow"). Various clues give this away such as him mentioning the "war in the North". The Vietnam War started when the North section of Vietnam became communist and declared war on the South half, which was capitalist. The scene when Hyunh gives Mai to the American helicopter leaving the city mirrors the real-life famous image of the helicopter taking refugees out of Saigon (called Ho Chi Minh City as of July 1976) after the South was conquered by the North. When Helga overhears Arnold talking about his mission to reunite Mr. Hyunh with his daughter, a sign behind her says "Saigon Helicopter", directly referencing this. Hyunh mentions he had to wait 20 years to come to America. It wasn't until liberation of the Vietnamese Communist Government in 1995, 20 years after the Fall of Saigon, that people could leave the country. (This also means Mr. Hyunh likely arrived in Hillwood not long ago, if this episode is considered to be set on 1996). **Mr. Hyunh's voice actor, Baoan Coleman, was at the real Fall of Saigon in Vietnam. **Martin Johanssen was also present during the Vietnam war, which he goes into detail in "Veterans Day". *This episode originally had a dream sequence of Arnold flying from his bed in the boarding house to Vietnam, which was cut for time. *The inscription on the Federal Office of Information reads in Latin, "Cave, Quivi Sumus". In English, this loosely translates to "Beware, whoever we are". *Animation from "Snow" is reused at the start of the episode. *Though it was a Christmas Special, it originally aired two weeks before Christmas Day, a recurring trend with many holiday specials as years went on. *Unlike most other Christmas specials, especially non-animated ones, nobody in this episode sings a Christmas carol. **Also, unlike most other Christmas specials, Santa Claus isn't featured or even mentioned in this episode. *According to Mr. Hyunh, candy is bad for his stomach. *This is one of two episodes where Olga appears but doesn't cry (the other being "Helga on the Couch"). *This episode is sometimes also referred to as "A Hey Arnold Christmas". *This episode never reran on The Splat until Christmas 2016. *Steve Lowtwait has said that this episode was one of the most endearing things that he has ever worked on. *This episode begins a running gag in which Grandma gets her holidays mixed up. In this episode she celebrates Thanksgiving on Christmas Eve and New Year's Day on Christmas Day. Cultural References *In real life, Frank Sinatra (who Dino Spumoni is an expy of) had a daughter called Nancy, who had a famous song titled "These Boots Are Made For Walking". *The truck that says "Stark's Moving Company" is a reference to storyboard director Stark Howell. *The character of Mr. Bailey may possibly be a reference to George Bailey - the protagonist played by actor James Stewart in the 1946 film ''It's a Wonderful Life''. Stewart was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor in this film, now turned into a holiday favorite. *The store Helga finds the videogame in is called "Budnick's Department Store", after background painter Alfred Budnick. *Department story Kacy's is based on the real-life story Macy's *Big Bob and Miriam sing half of the chorus of "Jingle Bells" and there are a few instrumental jazz versions of carols; including "Jingle Bells" over the closing credits. *Grandma plays "Yankee Doodle Boy" by George Cohan on the piano. Story Analysis *The reason Helga is standing in the snow outside the boarding house is because she guided Mai there (as neither Mai nor Mr. Bailey would know where Mr. Hyunh currently lives at). Category:Arnold's Christmas Category:Episode trivia